Wigan chairman Dave Whelan and the fans will be delighted that in demand manager Roberto Martinez has committed his future to the club, but the Spaniard faces his toughest challenge yet to save the club from yet another relegation scrap.
Martinez has been a loyal servant at Wigan, rebuffing the speculation of taking over at Liverpool this week and rejecting an offer to take over Aston Villa a year ago. However, he faces a number of problems at the club, including losing his right hand man, Graeme Jones, who looks set to take over Swansea City, the Spaniard’s former club.
With Jones set to move he is likely to be followed by a number of key players at the club. Mohamed Diame and Hugo Rodallega, £7 million pounds worth of talent will be walking out the door of Wigan for free. Although both players haven’t had the best of times last season, they have scored some valuable goals over the last few years, keeping them in the top flight.
So with Jones, Diame and Rodallega leaving the club, the likes of talented Victor Moses must be looking at the direction of the club and be concerned. The club will have to replace these players and hope to have the same impact, but the problem is time is scarce in the Premiership, and unless Wigan spend, they are doomed.
Martinez has worked wonders at the club, every time they seem down and out and look like being relegated they survive. When pundits and fans alike could only see relegation last season, they got some incredible results when it mattered, winning away at Liverpool and Arsenal and winning at home against Manchester United and Newcastle, but can you see a repeat next season? I just can’t see a repeat.
I do feel for him, he has severely limited funds and has scouted South America to bring players to the club for small transfer fees, and despite the lack of financial power in the transfer market he has done the job required. But how much longer will he want to keep scrapping it out every season, year in year out, watching other teams spend money and win trophies, it surely has to play on his mind on how far can he take Wigan.
His loyalty, his love, and his passion for the club are to be admired on the highest level, enjoying the job that he does, but another problem for him is that the teams that were promoted from the Championship look better equipped than a Wigan side that have been established in the Premier League for eight years.
West Ham United have a solid backbone in their team, with Rob Green, James Tomkins, Kevin Nolan and Carlton Cole. They will bolster their team in the summer and should have enough strength and depth to stay clear of the relegation zone.
Reading released 16 players ahead of their return to the Premiership and will need to strengthen, but with the takeover from Russian tycoon Anton Zingarevich they will have significant funds to strengthen, which is something Wigan aren’t likely to have.
Southampton are in a healthy situation financially, with the sale of Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain and with ambitious owners who look set to spend and bolster their already talented squad, this is a worry for Martinez who will be scrapping with these clubs for players in the summer.
I’m not saying that Wigan are bankrupt, or that they don’t have players with quality because they do. They have attracted the likes of Antonio Valencia, who has been hugely successful in England, but I worry about if they can keep bringing in these sorts of players, and how longer Martinez can keep saving them.
I fear for him, he has a wonderful relationship with the fans and the chairman but this summer it could be his toughest yet, trying to assemble a team to avoid relegation, but if things go wrong on the pitch he could the thinking about how much money he might have had at Liverpool, or if things would be different at Villa.
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Ermm, exactly how many players did Martinez bring in from South America? Apart from Rodallega and Diame ( neither of whom played much back end ) who are these other key players? Typical junk written by someone who just fancies having a pop at an unfashionable team. We may not finish mid table next season. We may get relegated, or we may surprise everyone. Whatever happens if you can’t be bothered doing the research and showing some respect keep your imaginary rumblings to yourself!
What a load of rubbish, as other posters have commented. Losing Momo and Rodellega will not impact the team and Jones is not off. We are the strongest we’ve been for years and hoping for a top half fishish. Hardly doomed…
Tomkins Cole Green where all in this great spine that got relegated !!!!!!
Really poorly researched article.
We are investing significantly in the youth and training setup, we have a larger transfer budget and a lot of space on the wage bill to play with for this summer. After 2 and a half years of struggle, we have finally found a set of tactics that work and the results we got weren’t flukes but because we have become a very good team. And most tellingly Martinez turned Liverpool and Villa down because he knows we are on the verge of something special and Jones is probably staying for the same reason we are about to have a really good season.
Hugo was massively over rated and didn’t work in our system. Diame was good and we are disappointed to lose him but he didn’t work well with McCarthy, and since McArthur has got in the team, McCarthy had been immense and the whole shape and balance of midfield is significantly better. It’s no coincidence that our up turn in form coincided with both men being dropped.
Next time you on going to write an article actually check some details rather than just guess.
I would just like to add that I don’t get paid for doing this and I’m still at university learning. The comments I have received will be taken on board and I will use this as a learning curve. Everyone has a right to an opinion and I just think Wigan MIGHT struggle next season.
On a separate note for people talking about West Ham, I find it difficult to believe how Tomkins, Nolan and Cole aren’t a strong backbone in a team…
I’m determined to write a good article about Wigan in the near future and hopefully not outrage the fans.
Cheers
You don’t know what you are talking about. Do something else with your life. The world is full of lazy journalists.
C’mon ye Latics
Yes, clearly because of one article that isn’t up to scratch means my whole world will fall apart. Like I say, all I can do is learn from it and come back stronger. Cheers.